ICC Note:
The Setara Institute, a human-rights watchdog in Indonesia, has reported that the number of religious rights violations in Indonesia has increased over the past two years. The Setara Institute recorded 208 religious rights violations in 2016, an average of 17 per month. This is higher than the numbers for 2015 and 2014, which were at 196 and 134 respectively. Tension has been rising in Indonesia between hardline Muslims and religious minorities. The tension has been stoked by political factors as well, with religion being used increasingly as a means of exerting political pressure. The blasphemy case against the Christian governor of Jakarta, known as Ahok, illustrates the problems that religious and ethnic minorities face in Indonesia in light of an increasingly conservative group of hardline Muslims.
2/2/2017 Indonesia (UCA News) – There has been a sharp rise in the number of religious freedom violations in Indonesia over the last two years, according to a human rights group.
In a report released on Jan. 29, the Jakarta-based Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace recorded 208 violations in 2016, up from 196 in the previous year and 134 in 2014, an average of 17 violations each month.
West Java province, with 43 million inhabitants, tops the provincial list because of discriminative bylaws and the prevalence of intolerant and radical groups, the report said.
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